Older people’s mental health team

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About the service

The older people’s mental health team provides a specialist community mental health service to people who are struggling with mental health difficulties in later life. The team has community mental health nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists, support workers and medics.

The team offers assessment of mental health problems in later life which usually include psychological, social, and physical components. The team will assess an individual’s needs and build an individualised care plan suited to their current needs. These interventions may include psychosocial interventions to help with the management of anxiety and depression, advice and monitoring around mental health issues, specific therapies for management of later life mental health difficulties, and outpatient reviews. The team works closely with external partners and community resources and may signpost individuals to external and third sector organisations as appropriate.

If you are referred to mental health services from your GP you will initially be seen by a member of staff from the Single Point of Access Team. They will assess your needs and refer you to the Barnsley older people’s mental health team if this is found to be appropriate. Once we’ve received the referral you will be allocated a mental health worker who will work out a plan of care with you to meet your individual needs.

Download our leaflet.

Why would someone choose the service?

Many people approach and deal with ageing as a natural progression in their lives, for others it is accompanied by negative thoughts and feelings.

The community mental health team for older adults recognises that difficulties faced by older people are different from any other group in society. Our staff have all chosen to work in this area and have undertaken training to help us understand the difficulties you may be experiencing.

Our team will assess your mental health needs, looking at all aspects of your life so that we can work together to design the best treatment plan for you.

The types of treatment we offer include; managing depression and anxiety, managing the effects of bereavement, helping people adapt to different ways of coping and getting back into the community. For those who have long-term mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder, we offer education about the illness, ways of coping and managing symptoms and how the ageing process affects the illness as well as drug therapy. We also offer advice and support to family and carers.

Whatever your diagnosis, our staff will help you work at your own pace and always respect your wishes.

We have received a range of service user feedback from evaluation questionnaires which include comments such as:

  • “The support and treatment I have received was excellent”
  • “I am highly satisfied”
  • “ I am in a much better place than I was at the beginning of my treatment”

Staff you may meet